Protector
by gypsywriter135
Summary: Sometimes, even the most strongest people need a shoulder...


Hello, everyone!

So, I'm a long time "Twilight" fan, but this is my first time a story for it. I was doing some research and realized that there are hardly any angsty Emmett fics. And, since I like to torture me favorite characters for some reason, this was born.

I also looked it up, and though it says that Emmett is the largest of the Cullens, it doesn't say whether he is the tallest. So, for this fic, I made Carlisle taller. And I made Emmett 18 years old. And I forgot what color wolf Seth was, so I made him a solid brown.

But anyways, here's what my brain comes up with. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: "Twilight" belongs to Stephanie Meyers.

**TWILIGHTTWILIGHTTWILIGHTTWILIGHT**

I watched as Jake gently threw a laughing Nessie into the air and catch her as she came back down, as small smile on my face. I leaned into Edward, who wrapped an arm around me and placed his chin on my head, a smile forming on his lips as well.

"Maybe Jacob imprinting on her isn't such a bad thing," I whispered, loud enough for only Edward to hear. "I mean… she absolutely adores him…"

I felt rather than heard the small growl that Edward released. "Pup just better watch himself."

I laughed slightly, a small movement in the forest behind Jacob and Nessie catching my eye. I saw a brown wolf tail disappear behind a tree and my smile widened a bit more.

_Seth_, I thought happily. Besides Jacob, he was my favorite wolf. Plus, he didn't seem to upset Edward as much as Jake did, though my husband would never admit it.

Suddenly, Edward became tense. I pulled away slightly to look at his face and saw that he was far away. His eyes held worry. Nessie had stopped laughing and was looking at me with that look she had. Even Jacob had stopped his previous actions and sniffed the air.

"Something's wrong," he said quietly.

Edward nodded and stood up, gently taking me with him. "We have to go."

"Edward, why-"

"Now, Bella," he cut me off.

I blinked at him for a moment and then nodded. "Let me just grab-"

"Nessie's gonna stay with Jacob for now," he said, cutting me off again. He looked at my best friend, a silent conversation going on between them.

"Let's go," he finally said. I nodded and he took off into the woods.

Quickly catching up, I ran beside him.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

"It's Emmett," was the curt reply.

I was thoroughly confused. "What about Emmett?"

"I'll explain later," he said, giving me a small, reassuring smile. "Turn right in about 5 yards."

I nodded and followed the rest of his directions until we got to our meadow. I saw the rest of the Cullens, along with Rosalie and Jasper, standing in the middle. Carlisle looked up as he heard our approach. I glanced at Rosalie, who was looking slightly panicked.

"What's the verdict?" Edward asked him, looking at Alice.

"I don't know," she snapped. "He keeps changing his mind. Ugh, if only he would-"

She stopped, and, if we were all still "living," then I could guarantee that we would all be holding our breaths. "The Newton's backyard," she declared.

Like a flash, my new family was off. Edward held back for a moment to allow me to catch up before he and I followed behind.

"What's going on?" I asked, now completely confused.

Edward sighed. "Every few years, Emmett… sort of… 'breaks down,' I guess you could say."

I looked at him quizzically.

"He just goes completely… mental," he continued. "Attacks people, runs off. One time, the Volturi almost got involved. Anyways, it usually takes all of us to knock sense back into him."

I stared at him, trying to watch where I was going at the same time. "Why?" I asked, almost a whisper.

He shrugged as we rounded a tree and almost ran into Esme, who was running ahead of us. "No one knows. He always blocks his mind from me during those times."

The seven of us skid to a halt. Rosalie quickly stepped forward and pushed away part of a bush that stood in front of us, almost like a wall. Behind us, the forest itself seemed to have completely quiet, almost as if it was waiting to see what would happen and afraid to make any noise.

And there was Emmett, peering around a tree at the few adults that were having lunch in Mike Newton's back yard.

His body was tense and poised, ready to jump into the clearing and… attack. Just as he was about to pounce, Edward leapt forward and tackled him in the air. The two of them rolled on the ground, quickly recovering. Emmett crouch low… dangerously low, and growled at Edward, who was also crouched, ready to strike.

"Emmett, no!" Esme cried, moving towards him. Carlisle stopped her as Emmett's golden-brown eyes turned to her, a fire burning behind them that I had never seen before. Another low growl emitted from his throat.

"Alice, Esme, and Rosalie, I want you to make sure that no one come walking by," Carlisle ordered. "Bella, shield everyone's mind except for his. Edward, leave him be, but stay on the alert. Jasper, do your thing."

Alice and Esme nodded and ran off into the woods.

"Carlisle…" Rose whispered, sounding worried.

"Go, Rose," Carlisle told her. "I need you to do this. You know what could happen."

Rosalie nodded and reluctantly followed Alice and Esme, sparing a worried glance at her husband. I immediately allowed my shield to expand, doing exactly as Carlisle instructed. Edward rose from his crouch, though I could see he was tense; a sure sign that he was on the alert. A calm settled over me and I glanced at Jasper, whose face was wrought with concentration

I watched as Carlisle made to move towards Emmett, but my new brother snarled and lunged at the doctor. Carlisle had no problem moving out of the way, thanks to a warning shout from Edward. But it was all that was needed for Edward to attack. Their snarls rang around the forest as I watched them, fear welling in my stomach.

I had never really seen Emmett fight, and it was scary. For one so big, there was no way he could have moved that fast, but as my eyes watched, my brain told me that is was indeed possible. He was almost as fast as Edward… almost.

"Jasper," I heard Carlisle whisper.

The blonde vampire nodded and the feeling of calmness increased over me. Emmett stopped in mid crouch and Edward froze, watching his older brother with a wary eye.

"Easy, Emmett," Carlisle said slowly, softly. It was almost as if he were talking to a cornered animal.

Emmett turned wild eyes on him, watching his every move as Carlisle started to slowly approach him. I noticed that he made no sudden moves and that he was sure that Emmett saw every move he did make.

"That's it, son. Just relax. Nothing's going to happen. Everything is fine. There's no need for this."

As Carlisle continued to talk in low, comforting tones, Edward slowly moved out of his stance and came to stand at my side, still watching his brother.

By the time that the doctor reached Emmett, the younger vampire was standing. He was still watching his father, but with wide eyes.

"Easy, son," Carlisle whispered, reaching an arm forward and making sure that Emmett saw what he was doing, The older doctor gently grabbed Emmett's arm

And Emmett, for the first time I had ever seen, crumpled. Carlisle pulled him into his arms as he slowly broke down. The dark haired vampire rested his forehead on his father's shoulder, arms hanging loosely by his sides as Carlisle gently rubbed small circles in his back, whispering comforting words into his ear. It was the first time that I noticed that Carlisle was an entire head taller than Emmett. I had always thought that Emmett was the tallest in his family…. My family….

I had always felt that Emmett was the big brother in our little coven. He certainly acted like it, and from what Edward had told me, Edward thought so too. In fact, everyone seemed to think along those lines… at least, that's what Alice seemed to think when we talked about it sometimes. Emmett always comforted his "siblings" when they were feeling down or when something was wrong. He was always the first to crack a joke to lift the mood, first to go find one of us when something was wrong, first to be there in the time of crisis. He was always there for the family.

But as tears fell from his closed eyes and onto Carlisle's shoulder, I realized that even, sometimes, the guardian angel needed help. I glanced at Edward briefly. He gave me a sad smile and nodded towards the forest. I turned and headed the opposite way, leaving Carlisle and Emmett alone. I could hear Edward and Jasper following me.

As I came to a small clearing, I turned and faced Edward, who took me into his arms and held me tightly. I looked at Jasper.

"How long until he'll be okay?" I asked. I was worried; I had never seen anyone in the Cullen family act that way, least of all Emmett, toward another family member.

"Ten minutes or so," Jasper replied, sitting down cross-legged on the grass.

I nodded and leaned into Edward, who held me even tighter. "What did Carlisle mean when he told Rose she knew what could happen?"

I felt Edward stiffen.

"A few decades ago, when this sort of thing happened, Emmett…" He paused. "Sort of… hurt Rosalie… and Esme."

My eyes widened. "How bad was it?"

"He almost killed them," Edward whispered. "Like… really killed them…"

If it were possible, my eyes got even wider. It took a lot to kill a vampire. And if Emmett had almost done that to Rosalie, his _wife_, then it had to be bad. I shivered, and Edward pulled me closer.

The three of us sat in silence, waiting. After a while, Alice, Esme, and Rose joined us. Alice went to sit next to Jasper, who put an arm around her shoulders. Esme had a comforting arm around Rose. I offered her a sympathetic smile, which, to my surprise, she returned.

It was another few minutes before Edward raised his head from where his chin was resting atop mine. "It's over," he said.

We all looked at him, and then Rose broke free from Esme and raced toward her husband. As we quickly followed and came into view of the other two vampires, I saw that they had their backs to us. Carlisle had his arm around Emmett's shoulders and glanced back at us when he heard our approach.

I saw his lips move as he said something to Emmett, but he was too quiet. Even my newly enhanced vampire hearing couldn't pick it up. But I saw Emmett nod all the same.

As Rosalie came ever closer, Emmett finally turned around and she flew into his arms. He held her close and I saw a few more tears flow from his eyes into her hair.

Carlisle smiled a small smile. "Let's go home," he said. He grabbed Esme's hand and the two of them lad the way, followed by Alice and Jasper. We trailed after them, and I could hear a few wet sniffs still escape from Emmett as he and Rosalie brought up the rear.

As we neared the house, I heard Nessie running to meet us. I kneeled and spread my arms wide as she ran to me. I picked her up and hugged her tight. Jacob walked slowly over to us, throwing a questioning look at Emmett as Rosalie ushered him in the house.

"Everything okay?" he asked, turning his attention back to me and Nessie, eyebrow raised.

I nodded. "Fine, " I told him. "Thanks for watching her, Jake."

He smiled. "No problem, really. But, uh… I kinda need to go. Seth, uh…. Needs a little help."

"Is he okay?" I asked, worry overtaking me once again.

Jake was silent for a moment. "He's… stuck in a tree," he told me, amusement dripping from his voice.

I chuckled. "Alright. I'll see you soon, Jake."

He nodded and took off into the woods, removing the white t-shirt he was wearing as he did so. I turned to Nessie, who gave me a smile, and I carried her into the house, Edward by my side.

TWILIGHTNEWMOONECLIPSEBRAKINGDAWN

I was sitting in the living room, clicking through the channels on the T.V. Edward was watching Nessie upstairs, and the rest of my family was around somewhere. I heard someone approaching and I turned to see it was. I was a little surprised to see Emmett leaning against the doorway, watching me. I smiled at him.

"Hey," I greeted.

He nodded. "Hey," he responded. "Um… I'm sorry about earlier. I know I didn't attack you, but I could tell you were afraid. I'm sorry."

I blinked. "It's okay."

He looked skeptical.

"Really, it is. Don't worry about it."

He ran a hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked almost as if he would cry again and he came to sit besides me on the couch.

"I just…" he said in a shaky voice that sounded nothing like the Emmett I knew. "Sometimes I just lose it and… I don't know why. And when I do, I can't control it, and then I end up hurting people… in more ways than one. And I scare people… like I scared you earlier…"

"Emmett, it's okay," I reassured him. "Everyone has a breaking point and we all deal with it in different ways."

"But why is my way so… so… _barbarous_?" he asked me, putting his head in his hands. His shoulders shook slightly.

I smiled comfortingly at him and wrapped my arms around him.

"It's not," I said. "It could be worse. But because you have such a loving family, you will always have someone to help you through it."

Emmett was silent, contemplating my words. After a few minutes, he broke away from me, wiping his eyes. He smiled at me.

"Thanks, Bells," he said.

I returned the smile. "You're welcome."

He ruffled my hair as he stood and headed to the door.

"Welcome to the family, kiddo," he told me with a small smile.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," I replied.

His smile grew wider and he winked at me before heading up the steps.

I shook my head and returned to the T.V. Sure, we all depended a lot on Emmett. But he also depended on us a lot as well.

"And now he knows it," a voice said.

I whipped around and saw Edward standing next to the couch. I smiled as he sat next to me.

"Good," I said. "Is Rose watching Nessie?"

Edward nodded. He planted a kiss on my lips and everything seemed to fade away.

**TWILIGHTTWILIGHTTWILIGHTTWILIGHT**

After a while, my fingers just started typing of their own accord. And I didn't really know how to end it...

My muse is apparently not satisfied.

Maybe, if you guys like it, I'll attempt another one... So review? Please?


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